CSS April, 2013 Review

This is a little late, but had to get our thoughts in order first before posting. Sorry for the long review…

To say this vacation was needed is an understatement. Jerry’s mom died unexpectedly on Saturday, April 6th, one week before our arrival date. After getting all the family members together from numerous states (6 extra people in our house alone!) we had the funeral on Thursday. Most family left by Friday morning…a few hours before we left for Chicago. We had planned to see Boz Scaggs in St. Charles, IL and fly “home” on Saturday morning. We weren’t going to go to the concert, but did anyways. It was a long, exhausting Friday but Saturday morning came and we were renewed!

The flight was uneventful and our arrival to Montego Bay was great! If anyone flies in on a Saturday, I would highly recommend using Club Mobay. 4 other flights arrived around the same time as we did, but we got through like a breeze! Definitely worth the money. (Departure from MB using Club Mobay wasn’t as worth the money as arrival though!).

The drive to the resort was longer than I wanted as we made two stops for beverages. I just wanted to get there! We arrived and had cold cloths and champagne presented to us…what joy! Then came the interesting part. Upon asking for a 3rd floor room in A block, we were pulled aside and told that there had been a change. My heart sank thinking they overbooked and we’d have to move to another resort. In the minute or so before we learned the reason for the change, I must’ve turned a thousand shades of white (not that I wasn’t white enough to begin with being from Wisconsin!). Jerry joined us at the same time she explained that we were being upgraded to the Hibiscus Cottage! What a relief! We were overjoyed at the prospect of spending what we thought was going to be a few days there before being moved to A block, but were told it was the whole week! We never have this kind of luck….ever!! Jerry’s mom must’ve been looking down on us! The stress and sadness of the week leading up to us getting there was going to be washed away soon!!

We were blown away by the beauty and privacy of the cottage. The hot tub was great and sooo relaxing! The bathroom is bigger than my kitchen! Loved the view from every room, but loved the walk-in shower even more! Laying in bed and looking out the doors to the ocean was unbelievable. We just kept asking ourselves if this was really happening to us!

We spent most of the week at SSB….Veronique was the best! Ask her for a screwdriver and see if she asks you if you want a flathead or phillips….it was priceless! We booked our couples massage while in the pool at SSB. Ruth from the spa came looking for customers and I was first in line! We needed to use our resort credit and I talked Jerry into getting his first massage. We booked the Hideaway and were not disappointed. The sounds of the waves crashing around you and the breeze blowing through was unbelievable! Ruth and Kerry Ann were wonderful!! Jerry loved it sooo much, he booked another one for us on Friday!! Both those lovely women have magic hands! Definitely recommend the couples massage to everyone!!!

We attended our first “repeaters dinner” and had a blast with Alicia! During the week we strolled through parts of the resort we didn’t get to see on our first, very short trip. The grounds are sooo beautiful and romantic. We even ventured into the mineral grotto! It was very refreshing but a little difficult for this short person to get out of!

The rest of the week went by way too quickly. There are soo many staff members that made our stay even more memorable than we expected I can’t even remember all their names! From the staff at check-in, the humorous man who brought our bags to the cottage (and sadly took them back to leave), to all the wait staff, watersports crew and grounds crew…every one of them smiled, welcomed us, and just made us feel very much at home! Jerry loved Linguini and Spaghetti the best I think!! They were a blast!

The only drawback I could come up with during this wonderful week is that the cottage and SSB are on complete opposite ends of the property. But by the end of the week we were old pros at the stairs. Besides, after all the food and drink, they definitely helped keep a few pounds off!

We were so blown away by our second trip to CSS that upon returning to reality we booked our third trip ‘home’ for February, 2014. We cannot wait to get back! We know that nothing will ever compare to this vacation and we probably never will get an upgrade to match is one….but the memories will last forever!

Thanks Couples for turning a very rough time in our lives into a wonderful vacation!!

Hello Fellow Wisconsinites! We're hoping to book our very first trip to Jamaica (CSA) for May 2014. Would it be ok to ask you a few questions? I'm a little concerned with room choice as we don't want to break the bank but i am a VERY light sleeper and super concerned w/ road noise. I'm curious why you initially chosa A Block? I appreciate any help or advice you can give us. My hubby also just lost his mother unexpectedly -so we need to get away from it all - but we're also celebrating 20 years married so happy times ahead! glad you enjoyed yourselves so much!

We were wondering the same thing so we asked the Assistant Manager, Nicholas, who stated that they do randomly upgrade guests if there is a vacancy in the suites or the cottage. It's great advertising and I can honestly say that if anyone can swing the cost difference, book the cottage!!! It is wonderful! But I still say Jerry's mom had something to do with it. After all....he was her #1 son!